You Don’t Have Be Someone Else
Print This Post
The Vegan Outreach blog says,
“It is not enough to be a vegan, or even a dedicated vegan advocate. We must remember the bottom line – reducing suffering – and actively be the opposite of the vegan stereotype.”
Eh, I’m not so sure. I truly believe that it’s far more important to get out there and do something than to nitpick about personality issues. Personalities are hard to change. If you’re cynical and angry and you fit “the vegan stereotype,” that’s OK. Be yourself. If you’re joyous and bubbly, that’s OK. If you’re antsy and uptight, that’s OK. If you’re cool as a cucumber, that’s OK.
To make a difference for animals you don’t have be someone else, you just have to do something else.
Besides (or more importantly), I don’t think that there too many stereotypically angry, anti-social, fanatical people involved in vegan education. I’ve met a lot of vegans and vegetarians in my life. Some have fit neatly into the stereotype, but most vegans are indistinguishable from the mainstream. In fact, I think the majority of vegans, vegetarians, and animal advocates are very “normal.” They’re so mainstream that the the real problem is that they don’t want to rock the boat.
Meanwhile, all serious animal advocacy requires rocking the boat, questioning the status-quo, and risking being perceived as a fanatical radical. At least a bit. You have to put yourself out there, a little. Thus, the only personality trait you need in order to effectively help animals is a little courage.
Just be yourself and worry more about the consequences of your actions than about other people’s perceptions. There are some effective techniques to use when leafleting about factory farming just as there are some effective techniques to use when protesting a pet store that sells dogs from puppy mills. Different goals require different strategies, but not necessarily different people or personalities.
And with the excellent literature from Vegan Outreach, the leafleter’s personality doesn’t matter much anyway. The pamphlets are stand-alone and don’t require a conversation. They’re that good. Virtually anyone can pass them out!
Rather than the above quote about acting like someone we’re not, I find this portion of Vegan Outreach’s “A Meaningful Life” essay by Matt Ball to be the most persuasive. It’s called “The Opportunity”:
If there were nothing we could do about these animals’ suffering—if it all happened in a distant land beyond our influence—then, again, our focus would be different. But exposing factory-farming and advocating ethical eating is, by far, our best option for making a better world. We don’t have to overthrow a government. We don’t have to forsake modern life. We don’t have to win an election or convince Congress of the validity of our argument. We don’t have to start a group or organize a campaign. Rather, every day, every single person makes decisions that affect the lives of farmed animals. Informing and inspiring people to open their hearts and minds to making compassionate choices leads to many fewer animals suffering.
Nearly everyone wants a better world. We oppose injustice and violence and wish we could do something to stop it. What can we do about starvation and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa? We can donate money, write letters, or try to get the government to intervene and give more aid. All of those efforts, though well meaning, are often far removed from having a proportionate or long-term impact.
Focused, effective animal advocacy, however, allows us to have an immediate and profound influence every single day. Preventing animals from being bred for factory farms may not appear to be a particularly exciting or inspiring goal, especially compared to the plight of individual animals or the urgency of the latest tragedy. But if we are to alleviate as much suffering as possible, we need to maximize our impact; through vegetarian advocacy, every single person we meet is a potential victory!
I agree with you that the paragraphs from Matt is preferable to the short blurb on the VO blog. And yes, courage is a great emotion to find itself’s way to the forefront of a vegan activist. And we will step on some toes… some of us just go about it differently. And we are talking about a fundamental change in living here, so it will be a long slog and having many different groups taking different approaches to educate and promote compassionate living is a good thing. Advocacy is the point, not pointing fingers, but healthy debates within social movements are bound to happen. Lets just keep the focus on the animals and ahimsa, please.
It took me over 30 years to become a vegetarian and another few years to become a vegan – a long journey. There are many things I look back to in my life that fill me with joy, but
I can say that becoming a vegan is the one thing I am most proud of.
I would wish for everyone to feel this way about their veganism, without ever appearing condescending or unforgiving towards others who are still searching – and yet there are many different ways to score a goal, and they all work in their own way.
It is sometimes saddening to see various groups quibble publicly over their different approaches to educate people about animal suffering. This only confuses those on the fence, and strengthens others who believe we are all lunatics who lost their sense of reality.
In my opinion we have to keep the eyes on the price, which is animal liberation, and not spend precious energy in-fighting over the ways to get there. This almost appears like a vegan caste system where “my way is more pure and better than yours”. It will lead nowhere.
Constructive and open exchange is the first step to winning the debate, and more different approaches may actually result in reaching a greater audience with our message.
Let’s focus on the collective goal and stand united as animal rights movement, with as many facets and different tools as can be deployed!
I don’t think I turned into a fairy after I became a vegan, so I assume that most other people also carry their own personality through to the cause – in their own way, but hopefully with most positive reassurance and encouragement for others to follow suit.
.-= Ina Mohan´s last blog ..Sep 8- Healthy appetizers- easy vegetarian recipes for appetizers and starters =-.
“The vegan stereotype” is more myth than reality. And as such, we needn’t worry about contradicting it when we can simply be ourselves. If the majority of vegans simply made it more obvious that they are in fact vegans, “the vegan stereotype” would HAVE to disappear because it wouldn’t have much basis in reality.
The few people whose personalities fit the stereotype may not be best suited to certain forms of outreach. So they should find methods of advocacy that suits their personalities, rather than trying to be someone they’re not.
Well said. We benefit from having vegans with different personalities and ideas talking rather than trying to present a unified front.
.-= Simon´s last blog ..Chess- Adventures in the Scotch Game =-.